Blundering Oldbury dad who gave tot morphine instead of Calpol is spared jail
A reckless father from Oldbury who mistakenly gave his sick six-month-old son morphine instead of Calpol has been spared jail.
The little boy became ‘floppy’ and was rushed to hospital by Dale Davies and the child’s mother, who were aged 19 and 17 respectively at the time, a judge heard.
The father knew what had happened but lied to medics, making it more difficult for them to treat the young lad who could have been killed by the blunder, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
The family’s flat in Wallace Close, Oldbury, was untidy and unsuitable for a baby to be brought up in when near tragedy struck in January 2017, said Mr Harbinder Lally, prosecuting.
The couple told hospital staff the child was drowsy, lethargic and not feeding but Davies did not immediately reveal the true cause until coming clean when reinterviewed by police months later.
He confessed: “I was not as careful as I should have been and gave him the wrong medication.”
The child was discharged after an overnight stay at Sandwell Hospital while samples taken from him were analysed and found to contain morphine.
Police were alerted and found the bottle of the drug at the flat.
Dyslexic
“The defendant did not normally administer medication for his son because he is dyslexic but the mother had gone to work,” said Mr Lally.
The morphine was prescribed for the defendant’s father who bizarrely left the bottle at the son’s address where it was kept beside the Calpol.
Fortunately the boy has made a full recovery.
Miss Samantha Powis, representing Davies, who is now aged 22, said: “It was a reckless mistake and he did not have the courage to immediately own up to it but there can be no doubt he loves his children.”
The mother was pregnant at the time and has since given birth to another boy.
Both youngsters are currently with foster parents but are seen regularly by their biological mother and father, the court heard.
Davies, who was of previous good character, admitted recklessly ill treating a child and was given a nine-month jail term, suspended for 18 months, with 120 hours unpaid work.
